Before long, Chu Lian followed Acheng to the place where they were holding their captives.
Upon entering, Chu Lian saw the faces of those men and couldn’t control his emotions; they were the spitting image of the ones in the portraits.
How could he not hate them? It was they who had harmed Xiangxiang. Had he not arrived by chance that day, heaven knows what might have happened to her...
As he counted them in his heart, there were precisely ten men. Ten against one fragile woman. The mere thought of that scene was too frightening to contemplate.
Seeing Chu Lian enter, Acheng’s subordinates collectively shouted, "Young master."
The ten were tied up with ropes, wailing miserably, clearly having been taught a lesson. The gang leader, upon seeing Chu Lian enter, immediately cried out, "Who are you people, why have you captured us? We’ve done no wrong to you!"
"No wrong?" Chu Lian snorted coldly, his voice so frigid it sent shivers down their spines. "Let me jog your memory. Seven days ago, on the road to Yang Family Village, you felled a large tree."
At these words, the gang members looked as if they remembered something, their eyes starting to dart around evasively.
"Remember now?" Chu Lian’s icy voice rose again.
The gang members, scared as though they were something else, didn’t dare to make a sound, except for the gang leader who kept shouting denial, "It wasn’t us, let us go."
This involuntary confession only fueled Chu Lian’s anger even more. They all deserved to die.
He clenched his fists tightly, suppressing his rage, and ignored the gang leader, turning instead to the other gang members. "Now, I’m giving you a chance. Recount the events of that day, down to every last word. Whoever speaks first, speaks the most, and speaks in detail, I will consider letting go first."
Chu Lian then sat down and slammed his fist on the table. "Who will speak first?"
The gang members looked around at each other, then hurried to speak out.
Chu Lian smacked his palm onto the table again, then pointed at the person at the very front and said, "You first. If you get anything wrong, the others will supplement."
"That day, we were lying in ambush as per the Boss’s command, supposedly to teach a girl a lesson. We were going to lock her up for a few days but,"
He glanced at his accomplices and then continued, "he said the girl was somewhat attractive, probably still fresh, and should be served up for the Boss to enjoy first, and then it would be our turn."
Hearing this, Chu Lian, furious, grabbed a cup from the table and hurled it at the man. He wished he could kill those people for treating Xiangxiang in such a manner.
He struggled to calm himself to listen further, then pointed at those behind and said, "You, continue."
"Then he suggested he had Charm Fragrance Powder on him. As soon as the Boss heard about the Charm Fragrance Powder, he livened up and drugged the girl. The Boss was too impatient and wanted to sort it out there and then by the roadside, having everyone gather round to watch. Initially, the Boss wanted to undress and get on with it, but the effects of the Charm Fragrance Powder hadn’t kicked in, so he started by stripping the girl’s clothes off..."
At that point, Chu Lian, like an enraged lion, could bear no more. These people were utterly depraved and deserved no mercy. He yelled at them, "Stop talking, all of you, shut up."
Seeing Chu Lian’s furious demeanor, the gang members instantly fell silent.
Worried that Chu Lian could no longer contain his rage, Acheng became concerned, "Young master."